Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) made UCI Cross-country Short Track (XCC) World Cup history at Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada), presented by Events.com, while Luca Martin (Cannondale Factory Racing) sprinted to the men’s Elite victory.
Swedish rider Rissveds powered away from her women’s Elite rivals with three laps remaining and pulled out a XCC record 18-second win. Meanwhile, Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) controlled the chasing pack and her second position was enough to seal her maiden UCI XCC World Cup overall victory.
The men’s Elite race was a closer affair with Martin escaping on the last lap and Cannondale Factory Racing teammate Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory Racing) fended off Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) for second.
The short and sharp XCC course featured a power climb before descending back down and a decisive short rise on loose terrain rising into the finishing straight.
Isabella Holmgren took victory for hosting nation Canada in the women’s Under 23 category, while Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) continued his winning run in the men’s Under 23 event.
RISSVEDS POWERS TO GLORY, WHILE RICHARDS CELEBRATES TITLE
Jenny Rissveds (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) took her fourth consecutive Women Elite UCI XCC World Cup victory with a commanding performance. The Swedish rider showed her dominant form as her rivals were unable to follow as she rode away to win by 18 seconds.
Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) came into the event knowing that a top eight finish would be enough to seal her maiden Women Elite UCI XCC overall crown. Overall points leader Richards got off to the perfect start and pushed the pace on the opening climb as Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) was pushed further back.
Canadian rider Jennifer Jackson (Orbea Fox Factory Team) was looking for a good performance on her home turf and took over the early pace setting.
On the third of nine laps Rissveds forced the pace and was followed by Richards, before the front group came back together. Rissveds continued her pace and Sina Frei (Specialized Factory Racing) joined Richards but once more the chasing pack rejoined the front.
After 13 minutes of racing Rissveds attacked again on the climb and was initially joined by Frei and Richards. However, the Canyon CLLCTV XCO rider had power to burn and used the final mound before the finish to pull out a sizeable advantage.
Rissveds was untouchable as she pulled out a 24-second advantage heading into the penultimate lap over a 13-rider chasing group. Taking the last lap bell Rissveds led by 25 seconds as Richards was powering at the front of the chasing group.
Ronja Blöchlinger (LIV Factory Racing) used the climb to challenge Richards for second position, and the pair had a slender gap descending down to the finish for the final time.
Rissveds celebrated a clear win and finished 18 seconds ahead of a delighted Richards, while Blöchlinger finished third.
Afterwards Rissveds said: “I just felt really strong today, I didn’t have to wait so I just went earlier than I normally would do.
“I learnt so much this year as an athlete and how to race as fast as possible. I feel like I improve every race and try new things every race. It’s scary sometimes to try new things and new challenges.
“When you face it, trust and believe then you should be proud of that. I really like this course in Mont-Sainte-Anne, I feel really strong at the moment, it’s a good feeling.”
Richards won the overall series by 110 points from Rissveds in second and Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) in third.
Following her overall victory Richards said: “I’m so happy. It has been such a turbulent year. When I didn’t race in Italy [Val Di Sole – Trentino], I didn’t care about the overall. I just wanted to get healthy and once I’m healthy I could then fight again. The fact I missed that, got healthy and still got it is just amazing. I’m very excited. Under 23
“I was really nervous, I wanted to win but also didn’t want to finish outside of the top eight.
“I know how strong Jenny [Rissveds] is and when she went, I had to make the call, I just couldn’t sacrifice trying to chase her down and risk losing it. I had to think quite a lot today.”
MARTIN LEADS ONE-TWO FOR CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING
Luca Martin and Charlie Aldridge were perfect teammates as they fended off their rivals to complete a one-two for Cannondale Factory Racing in the men’s Elite category.
The pair were involved in a last lap battle with Adrien Boichis (Specialized Factory Racing) and refused to let their rival by, as the Frenchman had to settle for third.
Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Specialized Factory Racing) powered from the front row and set a blistering first lap pace on the dry and fast course. Fellow Specialized Factory Racing rider Boichis finished runner-up in the previous two XCC UCI World Cup events and was close on the wheel of his teammate. Series winner Christopher Blevins was also keen to join his team-mates in the podium battle and used the climb to move himself up the front pack.
Luca Schwarzbauer (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) took the race on from the front and at the midway point was leading a long string of riders. Cannondale Factory Racing were also keen to take the fight to their rivals as Aldridge, Martin and Canadian rider Cole Punchard massed at the front on the sixth of 10 laps.
UCI XCC World Champion Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) was one of those who felt the fast pace being driven by Schwarzbauer and dropped outside the top-20 heading into the penultimate lap.
British rider Aldridge looked to repeat his victory from Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) and took the front on the penultimate lap, taking teammate Martin and Boichis with him. On the climb for the final lap the three leaders went alongside each other in a drag race for the front. Martin held first place and Aldridge allowed his team-mate a gap as Boichis was unable to come around his rival on the descent. Rising to the finish Martin held on for a slender win ahead of Aldridge and Boichis rounded off the podium.
Blevins had already secured the overall series and was joined on the overall XCC podium by Martin and Aldridge in second and third respectively.
Following his race victory Martin said: “It’s so nice to win here in Mont-Sainte-Anne because it’s very special.
“The people speak French here and it’s so nice to ride here. Charlie [Aldridge] helped me a lot, he rode on the front and today we played for the win.
“We worked super-well together. I think the sport is changing and we need to ride with a team-mate for the win. I think we did it perfectly today.”
HOLMGREN RETURNS WITH HOME VICTORY
Under 23 UCI XCC World Champion Isabella Holmgren took victory following an impressive penultimate lap attack. The multi-discipline rider has combined her mountain bike aspirations with road racing for Lidl-Trek. Holmgren had won two of her three XCC outings this season coming into the event and finished runner-up in the other.
Anina Hutter (Nexetis) led the charge behind in second nine seconds back, while Katharina Sadnik (KTM Factory MTB Team) finished third.
Following her victory Holmgren said: “It feels really nice to back on the mountain bike, especially here in Canada. It feels so nice to have a home crowd and family cheering.
“It’s super-hard to hold a good position on this course, so I wanted to stay as close to the front as much as possible and make it a hard race.
A third place for Sadnik was enough for her to clinch the overall series ahead of Valentina Corvi (Canyon CLLCTV XCO) in second and Ella Macphee (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) in third.
Following her overall victory Sadnik added: “I can’t imagine what I’ve done this year, it’s unbelievable.
“I’m more than happy and it will take a bit of time to get over it. Sometimes when I look down, I thought ‘I want to keep this jersey so I need to push’.
TREUDLER TAKES SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE WIN
Finn Treudler (Cube Factory Racing) continued his domination of the men’s Under 23 category with his seventh win in a row. The 22-year-old had already wrapped up both the XCC and XCO overall series titles coming into the final round in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada).
Despite his persistent efforts throughout the race Treudler was unable to gap a string of leading riders. That was until the penultimate lap when the Swiss rider pulled out a slender margin and fended off his rivals to the line.
Heby Gustav Pedersen (Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team) had to settle for runner-up position just two seconds behind and Swedish rider Nils Johansson was third.
Treudler won the overall by 281 points ahead of Pedersen in second, while Paul Schehl (Lexware Mountain Bike Team) finished third overall.
Following his victory Treudler said: “It was a super-tough battle today. I tried to break away a few times, but I just couldn’t make a decisive gap so it was a sprint finish again.
“I’m super-happy to take my seventh win in a row, it sounds pretty insane. I’m extremely proud of my season so far, I feel like I’ve come such a long way and it’s really nice to have such a great season with so many victories.”
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) with the downhill finals on Saturday before the UCI Cross-country Olympic World Cup rounds of proceedings on Sunday.
